The present application relates generally to wind turbines and, more particularly, to a method and system for verifying wind turbine operation.
Generally, wind turbines are complicated machines that may include a large number of mechanical and electrical components. When a wind turbine is assembled at a site, typically one or more tests are performed to verify proper wind turbine operation. More specifically, often a wind turbine is tested at various stages of assembly before being delivered to a customer. For example, a wind turbine may undergo a pre-commissioning acceptance test (PCAT), a field commissioning acceptance test (FCAT), and a customer commissioning test (CCT). Only after these tests have been completed may the wind turbine be delivered to the customer.
The commissioning tests, PCAT, FCAT, and CCT, may be performed by a wind turbine commissioning technician (also known as a commissioner). In at least some known wind turbine verification systems, the commissioner performs at least one of a PCAT, FCAT, and CCT using a paper copy of commissioning verification procedures. The paper copies of such verification procedures may be large and cumbersome. Often, many of the tests are performed within a nacelle of a wind turbine, where space may be limited. Commissioners may also need to bring other equipment into the wind turbine and/or nacelle. As such, commissioners may not have sufficient room for the voluminous paper copies.
Generally, commissioners must undergo a lengthy training process regarding proper wind turbine verification procedures. Moreover, commissioners may make mistakes in following the wind turbine verification procedures from the paper copy. For example, often the results of the tests are recorded on a paper copy, and transcription errors may occur when such recorded results are transferred into a centralized database or other data repository. Moreover, such transcriptions may be costly and/or time-consuming.